The Little Things
by kjt1
Summary: Sara and Grissom have managed to keep their relationship quiet so far. Will it be the little things that give them away? GSR. Additional chapter added - when did Brass find out?
1. Nick

**Title:** The Little Things

**Rating:** PG-13

**Disclaimer:** I pleaded my case, but apparently watching CSI religiously does not mean you own it. :-(

**Spoilers:** None really, though a mild one for PWF.

**Notes:** I have no idea where this plotline came from, but I decided to see what would happen if Grissom and Sara were together, but kept it a secret from everyone. Would they be able to carry on as normal, or would they inadvertently give themselves away. They do, after all, work with professional investigators. ;-)

**Part 1**

---

"I cannot believe you did that!"

"What?" said Sara innocently as Nick shook his head in amazement. "Oh, you mean doing the crossword before Grissom?" He nodded mutely. "Grissom never does this one here, it's always left lying around," she assured.

"It's not just that," said Nick. He had just watched her complete the NY Times crossword in record time and was still stunned. "You finished it in, like, ten minutes. That's incredible. Grissom's gonna be pissed."

Sara cocked her head at that statement, unwittingly mimicking Grissom's own usual expression of confusion. "Why?"

"I'm pretty sure he could never do _that_ crossword as fast as you just did."

"Oh, that," she shrugged.

"Seriously, Sara, I knew you were smart, but didn't think you were quite that smart. I mean, damn, ten minutes?" Sara smiled at him, picking up a journal from the table and starting to flick through the pages. "Like I said, Grissom is gonna be pissed."

"About what?" asked a voice from the doorway. They both looked up to find Grissom eyeing them curiously, awaiting an answer.

Nick shared a look with Sara and let a smirk form on his face as he replied, "Sara did the Times crossword _and_ she completed the whole thing in ten minutes." With his mischievous deed done, Nick rose and left the room, Sara's glare wearing a hole in his back.

"Actually, Nick," called Sara, causing him to stop in his tracks, "it was eight minutes. If you're gonna tattle, at least get your facts straight." With a laugh, Nick resumed walking.

"You finished the crossword?" said Grissom as he took a step towards the table, looking down at the finished article full of Sara's scribblings. "In eight minutes?" he queried when Sara didn't reply. She smirked at him challengingly as he picked up the paper to check her answers. "You know, it would take most people eight minutes just to read all the clues, never mind answer them."

"I'm not most people," she shrugged, her tone full of nonchalance.

"When are you going to tell him?" Sara looked blank so he elaborated, "Nick. When are you going to tell him you cheated?"

"Who says I cheated?" she replied, her tone neutral.

"I do." He took a seat at the table and looked at her mock-sternly. "You didn't _solve_ this crossword puzzle, Sara, you _memorized_ it."

"Really? How could I have done that?"

"Possibly when you watched me complete it first thing this morning, when we got off shift."

"Hmm, I don't really remember, I think you'll have to refresh my memory," she said playfully, her voice low and sultry.

"Let me set the scene," he said, playing along with her. "I was sitting on my couch, doing the Times crossword as I do every morning, part of my ritual. You decided that there weren't enough comfortable seats in my house, so opted for sitting on my lap instead of in a chair."

"Hmm," she murmured, running a finger along her lips, a thoughtful look on her face.

"You watched me complete the crossword which, I might add, took me twenty minutes longer to complete, mainly because of someone distracting me." Sara chuckled as he looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "You must have memorized the answers and then used them to play some sort of trick on Nick. Am I close?"

"I don't know, are you?" she said huskily. Grissom didn't miss the double-entendre and raised his eyebrows. "I didn't do it to play a trick," she said slowly, "that was just an added bonus." Her gap-toothed grin appeared and Grissom shifted in his seat, looking out into the hallway to make sure no-one was around. "I wanted to see how much I could remember. I did try to memorize it," she admitted, "but I didn't think it would be that much, since I was kinda distracted myself."

"_You_ were distracted?" he said with mild incredulity. "I seem to remember differently." He was remembering how her hands had found their way into the hair at the nape of his neck and had started slowly rubbing.

"You were engrossed in your crossword," she defended, "and you had this gleam in your eyes, you always get it when you're figuring something out. There's nothing I find sexier than a man who knows what he's doing." The double meaning in her words was once again evident and Grissom couldn't prevent a smile forming.

"Are you going to tell Nick you cheated?" he finally asked, desperately hoping to change the subject.

Sara stood up and walked to the table, placing her hands down on top of it and looking at him intently. "If I do that, I might have to explain exactly _how_ I cheated, how I knew all the answers when he knows I don't buy newspapers at home because they depress me further." Grissom met her gaze unflinchingly. "He's gonna ask why you're not bothered about me completing it so fast though. What should I tell him?" She stretched across the table, leaning impossibly close to him and he fought hard to raise his eyes to hers again, tearing himself away from her body parts that were at his eye level.

"Tell him I'm prepared to rise to the challenge," he said in a low voice, pushing away from the table and standing. Sara looked at him, trying to decide if there was a hidden meaning to his words. She received the answer as Grissom gave her a devilish wink as he left the room

---

TBC…

Next up will be Warrick. What will he notice?


	2. Warrick

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

**Part 2**

---

"Hey, Griss, you're bleeding," said Warrick. He and Grissom were working a B&E in the Mandalay Bay, a rock star whose room had been broken into and trashed. Grissom looked up in confusion and then checked his hands, wondering if he had somehow nicked himself on the broken glass he was bagging, but found nothing. "Your back," clarified Warrick. Grissom had taken off his protective vest as soon as LVPD had cleared the room and taken guard at the entrance, deciding he was too hot and it was hindering his movement too much.

Standing up, Grissom crossed to the bathroom and twisted himself into a position where he could see his back in the mirror. "Oh, must have scraped against something, there's glass everywhere" he said casually.

Warrick nodded, but furrowed his brow a little as he realized that there was no tear mark on Grissom's shirt, not even a slight catch, making him wonder how his back had been cut but not his shirt. Deciding it wasn't worth bothering about, he returned to his task of collecting evidence.

---

"Must have been some scrape," said Warrick as he loaded the evidence into the SUV, "your back seems to have a few cuts. Your shirt is pretty bloody."

"I have a spare shirt in my office," said Grissom, getting into the driver's seat. "I'll change when we get back."

"What do you think you scraped against?" queried Warrick. "Was it at the scene?"

"I don't know, I didn't feel it happen."

"You should probably put some antiseptic or something on it, just to be safe."

"I'll attend to it later," said Grissom, his tone gruff enough to end the conversation.

---

A knock at his office door stopped Grissom in his tracks. "Who is it?" he called.

"It's Sara," answered a voice muffled by the closed door.

Grissom opened the door slowly, peering at her around its edge. "Come in," he said, pulling her by the arm and quickly closing the door. The blinds on his office windows/walls were all shut and the room was sparsely lit by a single lamp on his desk.

"What the --? Grissom, what's going on?" she asked as she took in the sight before her. Grissom was shirtless and, since he was facing her, Sara got a full view of his chest, though her eyes were quickly drawn to his muscular forearms.

"Did you bring it?" he demanded.

"Yes, but what's all this about?" Ignoring her question, Grissom held his hand out and waited for her to extract a bottle from her pocket and pass it to him. "Grissom?" she said, her patience quickly waning.

"_This_ is what it's about," he replied, turning his back to her. "You need to cut your nails!"

"Oh my G… She trailed off as her eyes roamed over his back, noting the cuts. "You're saying _I_ did that?"

"Yes," he confirmed, turning around to face her once more.

"I'm sorry," she said seriously, "I didn't realize."

"Neither did I," he admitted. "Warrick noticed blood on my shirt at a scene. I guess we need to curb our pre-shift activities." There was a smile on his face and his voice changed from serious to teasing.

"If I remember correctly, those _activities_ were _your_ idea," she smirked.

"You were a willing participant," he pointed out. "Can you put that on my back please?" he asked politely, returning the bottle to her. "I can't reach."

She took the antiseptic from him and removed the cap, then stopped suddenly. "Shouldn't we lock the door? Anyone walking in here now would get totally the wrong impression."

"Actually, they'd get the right impression," he commented. "But, if I lock the door, that'll just arouse suspicions further."

Nodding, she removed some cotton balls from her pocket and dripped some antiseptic onto one of them, motioning for Grissom to turn around. "What did you tell Warrick had happened?" she asked.

Grissom explained what excuse he had used as she dabbed his back to clean the wounds. He hissed with pain as the antiseptic-soaked cotton made contact and then looked over his shoulder to glare at her as he heard her chuckle. "If you would keep your nails at a suitable length for dealing with evidence, this wouldn't have happened," he snapped harshly. Sara dug the cotton swab more firmly into his back and he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that," he said softly. "You do need to cut your nails though."

She finished her task, discarded the used cotton and then looked at her fingers. "They could probably use a trim," she agreed. "Why don't you keep any antiseptic in your kit?"

"I do usually, but I gave it to Sanders yesterday when he tripped at a scene. Haven't had time to replace it yet."

"Well, you can keep that bottle, I have another one," she informed him. He retrieved a new shirt from a drawer, took it out of its packaging and started to put it on, smiling smugly as he knew Sara's eyes were following his every move. "Should I assume you don't want me to come over after shift, give your back a chance to heal?" Her tone held a challenge and he was tempted to call her bluff.

"I think, since you caused the damage, you should be the one to ensure it's healing properly. Therefore, you'll have to regularly check the injuries."

Surprised he managed to sound so casual, she suppressed a smile and said, "I'll be over. Right now, I'm gonna go eat. I was on my way back from the deli when I got this strange page to bring some antiseptic and cotton swabs to my supervisor's office. It was a toss up whether to eat first or not."

"You made a good decision," he smiled.

---

"Hey, Sara," greeted Warrick as he arrived in the Break Room and saw her sitting at the table.

"Hey," she smiled in return. "Rough night?" Warrick looked exhausted and made a direct beeline for the coffee pot, pouring a mug and savoring his first sip.

"Yeah. I worked a case with Grissom, then spent the last hour supervising Greg analyzing the evidence we collected." He asked if she wanted some coffee and, when she refused, brought his mug to the table and sat down opposite her. "You're cutting your nails? Here?" he queried, wrinkling his nose as one of Sara's nail clippings came dangerously close to his coffee.

"Yeah, Grissom's orders," she said absently, her breath catching a little as she realized what she'd said. "He made some comment about my nails not being a suitable length for handling evidence." She mentally congratulated herself at her quick cover story and managed to put a suitable amount of emotion into it as she remembered her initial reaction when Grissom had actually said those words.

"Ah, that sounds like Grissom," said Warrick in commiseration.

"What sounds like me?" asked the man himself as he entered the room and poured some coffee.

Another of Sara's clippings hit the side of Warrick's mug and she quickly apologized. "I think I'll go make sure Greg finished up properly," said Warrick, lifting his mug from the table and bidding them goodbye.

Grissom looked to Sara questioningly and she smiled at him. "He wondered why I was cutting my nails, so I told him what you said."

"What?" he said with shock, eyes wide.

"About my nails being too long for handling evidence," she clarified, chuckling as he blew out a breath. "Don't worry, he didn't click."

Grissom nodded and walked towards the door again. "Now that you've cut your nails, normal service can resume tomorrow morning," he said lecherously, winking as he left.

---

TBC…

Catherine's next. Will they pull the wool over her eyes so easily?

A/N: Thank you for the reviews so far, they are much appreciated :-)


	3. Catherine

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

**Part 3**

---

The sun was just starting to rise as Grissom and Catherine arrived at their crime scene. They had taken separate vehicles since it was a busy night and Grissom expected to be called away at some point. Deciding not to approach the scene without him, Catherine ambled over to Grissom's vehicle and waited until he started to emerge. Scanning her eyes across the vehicle's interior, something caught her attention.

"Isn't that Sara's cap?" she asked, motioning with her head towards a baseball cap lying on the passenger seat. Sara's cap was distinctive, as she had written 'Sidle' shoddily in white thread across the back, having become fed up with Nick constantly taking the wrong cap from the Break Room whenever she left it lying around.

Grissom turned to where she was looking and then back to her. "Oh, yeah. She was probably the last person to use this vehicle," he surmised. He was thankful for the rising sun giving him an excuse to don his sunglasses, as it hid his eyes, which he knew would betray him to Catherine. Sara had been in the vehicle recently, but not for the reason he had given. She had been in it just prior to start of shift, when Grissom picked her up from her apartment to take her to dinner. Since she was dressed for work to save time, she had been wearing her cap, but had removed it when they left the vehicle to go to the restaurant and hadn't put it back on when they returned. They had been running late, so she quickly jumped from Grissom's lab-provided SUV into her own car when they got back to her apartment, rather than adhering to their usual custom of going inside for a few minutes alone before work.

Catherine looked at him curiously, but bought his excuse and fell into step with him as he walked towards the scene.

---

"I think we got everything," announced Catherine as she logged the last piece of evidence and double-checked her blood spatter calculations. Grissom nodded and snapped one last photograph before stepping back to survey the scene once more. "Once we've dropped the evidence into the lab, I'm gonna get something to eat. Do you want to join me?"

"No, I ate already."

"I'm thinking that your usual junk food diet will stop giving off its fat-induced energy boosts in a little while," she teased.

"Actually, I ate out tonight, no junk food" he told her smugly, instantly regretting it as he knew she would press him for details. He was right.

"Really?" she said, her interest obviously piqued. "Date?"

"Ran out of food," he lied.

"You sure you're not hungry?"

"Yes. I'll get Greg started in Trace, you can go eat," he suggested, taking the evidence from her to carry to his own vehicle. Catherine thanked him and walked to her SUV, a pondering look on her face. She stopped at the driver's door and looked back at him.

"You get to take your vehicle home, it's your assigned vehicle, when did Sara drive it?" she asked, though her tone wasn't accusing.

Grissom had already started to get into his vehicle and made sure he didn't flinch at her comment, managing to hide the fact that he'd heard. Instead, he climbed inside and started the engine, driving away and leaving Catherine to her wonderings.

---

"This is yours I believe," said Grissom as he tossed Sara's cap to her. She was poring over some evidence in the Layout Room and looked up at the sound of his voice. The cap landed on the chair behind her, accurately aimed by Grissom and she glanced at it in confusion.

"I wondered where I'd left that."

"It was in my Denali. Catherine saw it."

"Oh. What did you tell her?"

"I didn't. I avoided the question."

"That can't be good."

"No," he sighed, moving beside her and casting an eye over the evidence. "She went to get something to eat, but no doubt she's thinking about the slip up I made." He told her about his mistake in mentioning she'd been driving his vehicle and Sara winced.

"Maybe she'll forget about it," she said hopefully, but Grissom's look told her everything she already knew; Catherine wouldn't forget. Even if she didn't mention it, she'd file it away in her mind for later.

---

Grissom considered himself fortunate that the next night proved to be extremely busy, with every CSI working solo to get through the caseload. He had spoken to Catherine only briefly, when he handed out assignments, and she hadn't mentioned anything about how Sara's cap got in his vehicle. He and Sara had made a show of ignoring each other at the start of shift, hoping to throw Catherine off the scent, but were unsure if it had worked.

"Good work tonight, everyone," he said genuinely as they re-grouped in the Break Room at the end of shift to discuss where they were with their cases. "Sara, you're off tonight, so bring Nick up to speed on your case and he can make sure it's progressed."

"I don't mind working," she replied.

"I know, but I'm not authorizing the overtime," he told her, looking over the rim of his glasses with an expression that told her his mind would not be changed.

"I can come in anyway," she shrugged.

"No, you can't," he said sternly, prompting the others to shift uncomfortably in their seats.

"Well, _I'm_ working tonight, so I'm gonna go home to Lindsey," said Catherine, rising from her chair. Nick and Warrick both followed suit, with Nick telling Sara he'd meet her in the Layout Room to go over her evidence. That caused Sara to glare at Grissom again.

"Why can't I work tonight? It's my case, I'm happy to work, even without pay. I don't see what the problem is," she said in a tone that clearly showed her annoyance. "Is this because of the cap?" she added as an afterthought, looking at him closely.

"No, of course not. You work too many hours, Sara, you need to take a break. There's nothing in your case that can't wait, Nick will only be progressing the analysis in Trace. Everything will still be there for you tomorrow night." The look in his eyes and quality in his voice was unmistakable; he was worried about her.

"I'm fine, Grissom," she assured, giving him a full smile.

"I know you are," he agreed. "This is purely for my benefit." She furrowed her brow in confusion. "I have tomorrow night off, which means I don't need to worry about tiring myself out tomorrow morning, since I can catch up at night." With a smirk he added, "I need you rested tonight so you're ready my arrival in the morning."

"You're using _that_ to stop me from working?" she asked, her face housing a look that was a cross between annoyance and amusement.

"No, I'm going to clamp down on everyone. Nick has skipped his last few nights off as well, he won't be doing that again for a while. I know I work too many hours, it doesn't mean the rest of you have to do the same. The fact that you'll be rested tomorrow night is just an added bonus," he smiled.

"Alright," she grudgingly agreed, standing up and walking past him. "I'll go see Nick. Are you coming over later?"

"No, I'm gonna be a while, so many cases tonight, so much paperwork," he said with distaste.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. You'll bring breakfast?"

"You can count on it. Oh, and Sara?" he said, stopping her in her tracks. "You might want to take this with you, wouldn't want to leave it lying around again." She took the proffered cap from his hands, letting her fingers brush against his briefly. While she put the cap onto her head, Grissom took the opportunity to move past her and into the doorway. "If you're going to leave items of clothing in my car, you could at least make them a little more interesting, really give Catherine something to think about," he smirked, winking at her as he left.

---

TBC…

Greg is up next, in the final chapter. Will all be revealed?


	4. Greg

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

**Part 4**

---

"Greg, if your petted lip gets any lower, you're gonna trip over it. What's up, man?" said Warrick as the young lab tech entered the Break Room.

"Grissom just reamed me out," replied Greg with an air of self-pity. He helped himself to some coffee, wrinkling his nose at its smell and wishing he'd brought his own blend that night; he could really use the boost.

His comment and manner caught the attention of all those in the room; Warrick, Nick and Catherine. Greg was usually cheery, too cheery at most times, and to see him upset was not something they liked. He dropped into a seat at the table, next to Catherine, and stared into his coffee mug, depression oozing out of every pore.

"What happened, Greg?" asked Catherine with concern, placing a soothing hand onto his arm. At one time or another, they had all been subjected to Grissom's supervisory tactics and they knew they weren't his forte; he wasn't exactly a people person.

Taking a sip of his coffee and then pushing the mug away in disgust, Greg looked at them all in turn, judging whether they were being sympathetic or just looking to tease him. Satisfied they would listen, he began his tale.

"Sara came into my lab to check on her samples. She asked me at start of shift to bump her up the list and… well… she used her charms on me, so I agreed." He stopped and sent them all apologetic looks, knowing they were correctly assuming that all their samples had been pushed down the list as a result. "Anyway, I hadn't quite finished the samples and I advised Sara that she should leave quickly as Grissom was on his way. He had called me to find out where his results were and I had to admit I hadn't gotten to them yet; he hung up, so I knew he was coming to see me. Sara said she'd wait and talk to him, help me out. I told her there was no need, but she insisted. Grissom arrived and I told him that his stuff was next on the list, that Sara's was first. He asked how that had happened, since he got his samples to me before she did and I didn't really have an answer – I didn't think it would be wise to tell him the real reason."

"No, probably wouldn't have been," agreed Nick with a smile.

"Grissom looked at Sara and she kinda dipped her head to hide her guilty look. He put two and two together and then told me that I shouldn't let anyone play me like that. I was pretty stunned, I mean, that was all he said. He started to leave and that's when it happened."

"What?" asked all three CSIs, captivated by his story and eager to know more since Greg was injecting just the right amount of drama. They were all sitting around the table and each person leaned closer to him, waiting for the rest.

"I didn't realize he was reading something as he left, meaning he was walking slowly and I wasn't looking. I turned to Sara and asked her what had just happened. She gave me a blank look and I told her that if anyone else had done what she did, got her stuff bumped above Grissom's when it wasn't a time-sensitive case, they'd have been warned by him. I then joked that she was obviously his favorite CSI. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. Grissom was still in the room and he heard everything I said. I swear, I've never seen him move so fast. He turned round and stormed towards me, started yelling that I was the one in the wrong, I was in control of the lab and I made the choice to put Sara's stuff first, above everyone else's. He said he didn't believe in playing favorites and that if he ever heard me saying something like that again, he'd get me fired. Seriously, he was mad as hell, totally unlike the Grissom I'm used to seeing."

"What did Sara say?" asked Catherine curiously.

"She tried to defend me, told Grissom that it was really her fault, that she'd taken advantage of me, but he wouldn't listen. He started on me again and then Sara told me to leave, so I did – never been so glad to leave a room before."

"Man, that sounds harsh," said Nick.

"Yes, it does," agreed Catherine, a thoughtful look on her face. "Greg, what seemed to be the main thing that got him mad?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you said he didn't really seem too bothered about his stuff getting bumped, right? He didn't demand you stop work on Sara's stuff and work on his instead?"

"No," confirmed Greg.

"So, the trigger was your comment about Sara being his favorite?"

Greg replayed everything in his head once more, wincing as he remembered the verbal battering he had received. "Yeah, I think it was," he finally said.

"Catherine, what you thinking?" asked Warrick, noticing how deep in thought she was.

"I think there's more to this than Greg realizes," she informed them. "People have been teasing Grissom for a while about Sara being his star pupil, he's never reacted that way before."

"So?" queried Nick.

"Does the phrase 'there's no smoke without fire' mean anything to you?" she said cryptically. All three men shared looks of confusion and then simultaneously seemed to catch her drift.

"You mean…?"

"Yes, Nick, I mean I think there's something going on between them."

"You can't say that just because he's worried people think he's playing favorites," pointed out Warrick.

"I'm not, I'm putting two and two together – the favorites thing and something that happened a few days ago."

"Like what?" asked Nick.

"I found Sara's cap in Grissom's vehicle. He said she must have been the last one to use it and left it there, but no-one ever gets to drive Grissom's vehicle, it's assigned to him."

"Maybe they worked a scene together," commented Warrick logically.

"That would be a possibility, if it wasn't for the way he said it," said Catherine. "He specifically made it sound as though she'd been in the vehicle on her own, that he didn't know anything about it. If it was possible she'd left it after a scene, he'd have said that. You know Grissom, he remembers these things."

"Did you ask him about it?"

"Yes, I did. He conveniently appeared not to hear me and drove away. I haven't really given it too much thought since, but from what Greg just said, I really think something might be going on between them. It would make sense, she could have left the cap there if they'd been out somewhere together, just before shift."

"You know, Sara did the Times crossword in record time last week and Grissom didn't seem to bother about it. I mean, we all know he takes crosswords seriously, so I thought he'd be pissed that Sara found it so easy. Also," continued Nick, remembering the event, "she seemed to know that he wouldn't bother. I said something about crosswords always being left for Grissom to complete, but she was very certain that he never did the Times one at work. I didn't really think anything of that at the time, but now…"

"That could explain something else," chimed in Warrick, waiting for them all to look at him before he explained. "We were at a scene a few days ago and I noticed Grissom's back was bleeding. He said he must have scraped against something, there was a lot of glass around, but there were no tear marks or anything on his shirt, he must have done it before work."

"Maybe it was at a scene the day before?" suggested Greg.

"No, the wounds were too fresh, bleeding too much. I didn't see them directly, but I saw the blood marks they were making on his shirt. Thinking about it now, they could have been made by nails… fingernails."

"Really?" said Catherine, her intrigue rising.

"Yeah, that's not all though," said Warrick. "I later found Sara in here cutting her fingernails. When I asked her why, she said that Grissom had ordered her to do so. After she said that, she seemed pretty flustered, but then said he'd made a comment about her nails being too long to handle evidence properly. She seemed pretty serious, but…"

"You really think Grissom and Sara are together?" asked Greg with disbelief. The others all nodded slowly, their minds processing the new information. Each of them then moved their heads faster, with more conviction, becoming more convinced by the second. "Why wouldn't they say something though?"

"They're in an awkward situation, man," said Warrick. "He's her supervisor. That would explain why he got so pissed at your favorites comment though, no way would he want anyone to think that he was making decisions based on his personal feelings for Sara; that could jeopardize both their careers."

"So, what do we do? Ask them about it?"

"No, Greg, that's the last thing we do," said Catherine quickly, shaking her head for emphasis. "They obviously don't feel comfortable enough to share it, probably worried about letting anyone know in case Cavallo or someone finds out."

"But, we wouldn't drop them in it," said Greg with hurt.

"Not intentionally, but you know what this place is like. I think we should keep this to ourselves for now, maybe watch them a little more closely, drop a few subtle hints to see how they react, make sure once and for all that our suspicions are correct," suggested Catherine.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan to me," said Warrick. "We gotta watch what we say though, it's obviously a touchy subject if he reamed Greg out like that." Greg nodded emphatically at that, still sore about what had happened.

"Do you think they'll ever tell us?" mused Nick.

"They will, eventually," stated Catherine, "but knowing Gil, they'll wait until Sara has a ring on her finger."

"You think it's _that_ serious?" said Greg with shock.

"I think it _will_ be, eventually," replied Catherine. "Anyone who knows them can tell they're supposed to be together. I didn't think I'd ever see it happen though. Let's just be happy for them and respect their privacy." The men nodded their agreement and left the room one-by-one to return to their work.

---

"Don't you think you were a little hard on Greg?" asked Sara as she and Grissom stood in the Trace Lab. Greg had left moments before with his tail between his legs and a fearful look on his face. "He didn't mean anything, he was only teasing."

"Yes, but teasing can lead to trouble," said Grissom seriously. He left the lab and Sara followed him to his office, closing the door behind her. "Do you think I _do_ play favorites?" he asked her as they both sat down.

"If you do, it's with Catherine, not me." He looked at her in surprise. "Oh, come on, Grissom, you know you save her butt a lot more than she deserves."

"Sara, I—"

"No, we shouldn't get into that now, it won't do us any good," she asserted and he had to agree. "You know, Greg looked really upset, he's probably in the Break Room right now, telling the others what happened."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Catherine, Nick and Warrick were all in there when I passed, he'll have gone looking for sympathy." Grissom pinched the bridge of his nose and emitted a sigh, silently acknowledging he'd gone too far in his reprimand of Greg. "If he tells them exactly what you said, what got you so irate, they're going to figure it out," said Sara quietly.

"I know," he agreed, pinching his nose harder and drooping his shoulders in defeat.

"So, what do we do? Should we head them off at the pass, tell them the truth?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "They won't say anything, not to us and not to anyone else."

"What makes you so sure?" she asked, doubt lacing her tone.

"Catherine knows me too well, she'll realize why I haven't said anything so far. I've had opportunity, the incident with the cap was a definite one, but I didn't take it, so she'll know I'm not ready to talk about it yet."

"Are we ever going to tell them?"

"I thought you were okay with keeping it just between us for now?" he said, doubt creeping into his voice and a look of worry emerging in his eyes.

"I am," she assured, stretching a hand across the desk to lightly grasp his, "it's just that, if they know, we can't guarantee that they won't let it slip accidentally. If they do, won't it look worse for us by keeping quiet, not being upfront with Cavallo?"

"Our original reasons for keeping quiet haven't changed, Sara. If I think there's a risk, I'll talk to Cavallo. Are you okay with that?" he asked gently, squeezing her hand.

"Yeah, I am," she smiled. "What we have right now is too good to be fodder for office gossip, there will be plenty of time for that later, in the future."

"Yes, there will be," he agreed. They both smiled at the realization that they had just confirmed to each other that they were both in it for the long haul. "Right now though, you should make sure Greg gets back to work on your samples so that he can then get to mine." She laughed and stood up, releasing his hand. "Oh, and Sara?" he called as she reached the door. "No taking advantage of Greg's soft spot for you again, I might get jealous," he said with a wink.

"You have nothing to be jealous of," she replied, winking back at him as she left the office.

---

TBC… 

Some of you asked for a Brass part so, even though this chapter was meant to be the end, I've caved and written another. Hope you enjoy :-)


	5. Brass

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

**Part 5**

---

There were a few veiled comments made in Sara and Grissom's presence after the incident with Greg, confirming their suspicions that the rest of the team suspected they were a couple but were respecting their privacy and staying silent on the matter.

As Sara drove to Grissom's home a few days later, she reflected on the incidents that had probably given them away, knowing that the one with Greg was not the only factor. She smiled as she thought about the rest of the team – little did they know that one other person had figured the whole thing out, and confronted Grissom, long before they did.

Sara and Grissom had been called to a DB out in Henderson and had been met by Brass upon arrival. Explaining the situation to them, he led them to some bushes at the side of a park and chuckled a little as Sara recoiled at the sight before her – the body was infested with bugs.

"Now I know why Grissom was called," she muttered to herself.

"Yeah, and isn't it great that he chose you to share in his fun?" teased Brass. She rolled her eyes and he laughed, his laugh growing as he realized that Grissom was totally oblivious to the fact that she was actually complaining.

Stepping away from the body, Sara started snapping photos of the surroundings, visually cataloguing as much information as possible. Grissom was poring over the body, identifying all the different types of bug and mentally working out a rough timeline for the victim's death. He eventually looked up and called Sara over to take some photos. She approached cautiously and kneeled down on the opposite side of the body from him.

"Get some close ups of that, would you?" he requested, pointing at something near the victim's right ear. Sara nodded, but didn't immediately perform the task. Instead, she put down the camera and started searching her pockets and then her kit. "Problem?" asked Grissom.

"Uh, do you have any elastic bands? I forgot my cap and need to tie my hair back before I get too close," she said. Her hair wasn't particularly long, but she knew she was going to have to hover very close to the body once the photo was taken, as Grissom would require assistance to remove a few of the bugs carefully. Although she didn't think her hair would contaminate the scene, she didn't relish the possibility of it brushing against a dead body or any bugs.

Grissom started to shake his head, remembering that he had been en-route to restock his kit when he had been called to the scene. However, he suddenly reached into his jacket pocket and removed something, passing it to her wordlessly. Looking at the item now in her hands, Sara smiled and looked back up, meeting his gaze for a fleeting second too long.

Brass watched with some amusement as he saw the look pass between Gil and Sara. His smirk grew into a smug smile as he noticed her use the item Gil had given her – it was an actual hair scrunchie. Silently stepping closer to the pair, he heard Sara's quiet words of thanks, followed by Grissom's murmured confession that he had lifted it from his bedpost the night before and forgotten to return it to her.

The snap of a twig under Brass's foot alerted the two to his presence and they quickly turned their heads in his direction. Plastering an innocent expression on his face, Brass said, "Find anything?"

"Evidence collection like this will take a while," replied Grissom somewhat sharply. "I'll let you know when we're done."

Nodding, Brass walked away, but not before giving Gil a surreptitious wink that left the CSI Supervisor more than a little worried.

---

"So, you and Sara, huh?" grinned Brass as Gil finally joined him to discuss his findings.

"What?"

"Oh, don't look like that, Gil, I saw you give her the thing for her hair –"

"That doesn't mean anything."

"And I also heard you tell her where you'd found it and who it belonged to," continued Jim unabashed. Raising his hand defensively, he added, "I just wanted to say good on you, you deserve to be happy. Of course, I am curious as to how long this has been going on."

"You're the detective, Jim, shouldn't you be able to figure it out for yourself?" commented Gil.

"Normally, yes, but you're an enigma, Gil. I can _never_ figure you out. And, as for Sara, well, she's like a female version of you. So, no, I can't figure it out. Care to clue me in?"

Looking over at Sara, who was loading the evidence into the back of her SUV, Grissom smiled a little and Jim smiled as he saw how much his friend's face lit up.

"Okay, it's none of my business," said Brass eventually, knowing that Gil was not going to tell him anything. "Just… look after her, okay, she's nowhere near as strong as she makes out."

"I know," agreed Gil seriously. "Jim, we don't… We want to keep this quiet. There are a lot of reasons that -- We would appreciate it if you could respect our privacy."

"You've got it, my friend," stated Jim, patting Gil on the back and then patting him a little harder to regain his attention after he had locked eyes with Sara for a moment. "You know that no-one will have a problem with it though, don't you?" Gil started to reply, but Jim cut him off and amended his statement. "No-one that _matters_ will have a problem with it." Following Gil's eyes to Sara once more, the two men watched as she finished loading the SUV and waved them goodbye before driving away. "You might wanna watch what you say and do around your CSIs though, they're smart people and will pick up on the slightest clue."

Walking away, Grissom cryptically said, "That might not be such a bad thing."

---

Sara broke out of her reverie as she drew into a parking spot near Grissom's townhouse and found him sitting on his stoop.

"Waiting for someone?" she smiled as she approached him.

"Yes, someone is supposed to be bringing breakfast," he deadpanned, staring pointedly at her empty hands.

"Ah, I have another way to sate your hunger," she teased seductively, stepping past him and stopping just outside his partially open door. "Care to try?" His hesitation in moving worried her and she moved back down the steps, taking a seat beside him. "You okay?" she asked, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm just thinking."

"Well, I have ways of making you stop doing that as well," she grinned. "In fact, I believe you might like them."

"It's time," he announced suddenly and she looked at him in confusion. Twisting around, he took both of her hands in his and clarified, "I think it's time to drop the biggest clue, make them realize we're not trying to hide this—us, anymore."

She knew, of course, what and who he was talking about and she smiled encouragingly. "What's the biggest clue?" she queried, genuinely unaware of his thought process.

"We go out to breakfast as a team, off the clock."

"That's it?" she said, furrowing her brow. "How is that going to tell them anything? That's not exactly a new event. Okay, we haven't done that in a while, but still…"

"Yeah, but I think that, when I arrive late and greet you with a kiss, they'll get the message," he smirked.

"You'll greet me with a kiss?" she repeated, slightly stunned by what he was saying.

"Sure, it's what I do every morning when we meet up off the clock, isn't it?"

Pulling her hands from his and clasping them together on her lap, she fixed him with a look. "Well, I'd like to say I concur with that statement, but I can't." He looked thoroughly confused and she smiled, but it faltered a little as she saw the worry in his eyes before he dipped his head. "After all," she continued in a low voice, "I haven't had any evidence of that this morning, have I?"

His eyes flew to meet hers once more and he reached for her hands again. Standing, he pulled her up with him and then dropped his hands to her waist. "You're right, that's a shocking oversight on my part. May I be allowed to rectify the situation now?"

"Of course," she smiled. "But, since your greetings are always followed by us eating breakfast, I think we need to move inside. I don't think your neighbors would appreciate the breakfast treat I have for you this morning."

Emitting a low chuckle that turned into a hearty laugh, Grissom grabbed her hand and pulled her inside his house. Closing the door firmly behind them, he asked, "Tomorrow okay for breakfast with the team?"

"Sure," she smiled, "but only if I get my fill of you today."

"Oh, you will," he stated, walking towards his bedroom. At the door, he stopped and turned back to her. "You have no idea how hungry I am." She laughed as he gave her a devilish wink and disappeared into his room.

---

**The End**

And, that's definitely the end this time. Hope this part was worth the wait. :-)

Thank you for all the reviews I've received for this fic, they are very much appreciated. It's not often that I allow myself to be persuaded to add to a fic I've written, but I'm happy I caved on this occasion.


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